Resources

The current focus of this page is how you can access free versions of The Oregon Trail online. In the near future, the page will be expanded to include other materials, including historical artifacts and a downloadable version of the game.

Accessing the Game

If you have never played The Oregon Trail – or if you would enjoy playing it again – then you can find the game online. Several websites provide access to the 1985 Apple II version of the game, and at least one website lets you play the DOS version, which is nearly identical. To play the Apple II version of the game on a modern personal computer, you need to use an Apple II emulator. (Likewise, if you want to play the DOS version, then you need to use a DOS emulator.) There are three ways to do this:

1) The easiest method is to go to a website where the emulator is built right into the web page – meaning that you don’t have to install anything at all. A good example is:

When you arrive at this website, just click the “Load” button for Drive 1, then choose “Educational”, and then “Oregon Trail – Disk 1”. You should also load Disk 2 to Drive 2, or else you will need to change to Disk 2 when you get halfway to Oregon.

2) A second method is to go to a website that installs an Apple II plug-in into your web browser, allowing the browser to serve as the emulator. One such website is:

Click on the picture of The Oregon Trail. If all goes well, then the site will install an extension to your web browser that simulates an Apple II – and then you can play the game.

3) A third method is to install a free Apple II emulator application on your computer. For example, if your computer runs Windows, then a good choice is AppleWin. After the app is installed, just download the disk images for The Oregon Trail (which consists of two disks) and play away!

If you really want to play the DOS version instead, then one possible website is this: